Needle threader



May 25 1926.

A. STEPHEN NEEDLE THREADER Filed 061;. 26, 1925 I INVENTOR (I. Sze vlzea BY mum T6,.

ATTORNEYS Patented May 25, 1926.

ALEXSON STEPHEN, F CHIC.A G0, ILLINOIS.

NEEDLE THREADER.

Application filed October 26, 1925. serial No. 64,865.

My invention relates to improvements-in needle threading devices, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a simple device by means of which an ordinary sewing needle may be threaded with very little effort, and even by one whose eyesight is very poor.

A further object of my. invention is to provide a device of the type described in which the operation of the parts is made certain by the fact that the needle is guided into exact position for receiving the hook which pulls the thread through the eye.

A further object of my invention is to rovide a device which may be. conveniently lield in one hand, thereby permitting the other hand to manipulate the hook member.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

My invention is illustrated in the accom panying drawings forming part of this application, in who Figure 1 is a section through a portion of the needle threading device, the holding member being shown in elevation,

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device, and

Figure 3 is an enlarged section along the The opening 3 serves a double purpose; it

permits the thumb and finger to get a good grip on the holding device, and it serves as a means for hanging the needle threader on a nail or other suitable support when not in use, or for attachment to a chain or string.

The bod portion has a bore l extending downward y from one end. It will be observed that this bore tapers from the end toward the bottom. Near the bottom, however, the bore flattens out; that isto say, it is of an oblong shape, as shown in Figure 3. Extending inwardly from each. side-arc tapered passages 5 and 6. The passages-5 and 6 have a common central axis.

Near the top of the body portion 1 is a cutaway portion 7 to provide a shoulder on which is supported a spiral spring 8, pref:

erably by means of a loop of wire 9. One end of this spring is secured to the body 1,

the opposite end being bent in U-shape, as

dle, such as that shown at 12, is placed in p the bore 4 with the eye portion extending downwardly. The handle or holding member 2 is grasped and the device is shaken so that the needle will pass downwardly into the lower fiat portion of the bore. The needle, owing to the curvature of the bore, automatically adjusts itself so that the eye of the needle, when the latter has reached the bottom of the bore, is in alignment with the passages 5 and 6. The U-shaped spring member 10 is now brought downward and its end is thrust through the passage 5,- through the lye of the needle, and through the passage 6, e thread 13 is caught on the hook, and the t U-shaped spring member is drawn back wardly, drawing the thread through the eye of the needle. The thread is then detached from the hookand the needle drawn out, drawing with it as much of the thread as desired from the spool 14, when the thread may be broken off and entirely detached from the needle threading device.

That the device is very efficient has been proved in practice by a model. Many times it is only necessary after passing the hook through the passages 5 and-6 to retract it and then pull the needle out immediately,

thus pulling the thread from the hook and from the spool. I have found that this de-' vice in actual practice will work with needles of various sizes, since the device is so constructed that with small needles, as well as large ones, the passages 5 and 6 are in alignment with the eyes which willpermit the thread to be drawn through very readily.

I am aware that devices for threading.

sewingmachine needles which are held in a stationary position have been made before. The present device, however, 1s adapted for threading all kinds of needles, and especially those which are not held in a stationary position. In the drawing, I have shown the flat part of the needle as beginning just above the passages 5 and 6. Obviously this flat portion may be extended further up without departing from the spirit' of the invention, the main purpose being to so form the bore 4 as to cause the needle to be guided automatically into position with the plane of the fiat portion of the needle at right angles to the passages 5 and 6 so asto bring the eye into alignment with these passages.

I claim:

A needle threading device comprising an elongated body portion having a; bore extending from one end toward the other, said bore being of a length sufficient to receive the major portion of a needle, said bore tapering from the outer end toward the opposite end and terminating in an oblong reduced portion, said body portion being pro vided with transverse aligned passages tapered from the outer edge of the body portion, said transverse aligned passages communicating with said oblong portion of the bore, a U-shaped spring-actuated member having a hook at one end arranged to pass through said passages and through the'eye of the needle, and a fiat plate-like holding member integral with said body portion at the end thereof near the transverse passages, the plane of said holding member being parallel with the axis of the transverse passages ALEXSON STEPHEN. 

